Harleys, Cars, Girls & Guitars

How Long Can This Shit Go On?

Will the hard times never end? Three years (almost) since the stock market crash of 2008, and I see no signs of recovery. I’m looking for a geezer job… something that pays 20 bucks an hour three days a week, and so far… nothing.

I’m not hoping that some politician will bail us out. Hell, politicians got us into this mess. Our political class just carried out the biggest scam in human history, the Fannie Mae, Wall Street heist. Our political class, Republican and Democratic, just stole us blind. Giving them more money (increasing taxes) would just encourage more theft.

The situation is getting so bad that, in craigslist, employers are demanding the programmers be “passionate” about their job. Who in the fuck is passionate about programming? Writing code is not a horrible way to make a living. Sure beats cleaning toilets. But, given the alternative of spending your day outside gardening and taking a walk as opposed to hacking code… which would you choose?

The last time everything fell apart like this was back in the 1970s, when I was fresh out of college. It took a decade for the economy to entirely right itself. The 70s was the era of Jimmy Carter, our most inept president. Obama looks a lot like Carter Redux. Same issues, same intransigent idealism.

I don’t think that presidents can do much to fix economic problems. But, they can sure screw things up. Obama is working overtime to do just that. The green energy scam, illegal immigration, the porkulus, race and sex quotas, the attempt to deep six domestic gas, oil and coal production… you name it!

I’m still hoping for that contracting job that lasts for 3 or 4 more years before I bail and head out for pasture. But, that might not happen. I suspect that it will be five to ten years before the economy recovers. Working another 3 or 4 more years would help me to enjoy a much more prosperous retirement. But, I may be reduced to just scraping by.

At least, I’ll have my time to myself to do as I please. Or, so I think. Life is full of surprises.

Willie Nelson Says: Legalize Pot!

No kidding! Here’s a YouTube video featuring Willie, arguing for the Feds to legalize pot:

OK, so I just wrote a post about how musicians should shut up about politics. Fuck me!

Pot prohibition is an atrocity. Makes no sense at all. This should be a bipartisan issue. For Republicans, ending pot prohibition means getting the hell out of people’s private lives and business. For Democrats… well, it’s about getting high... and raising taxes! What could be more dear to a Democrat's heart?

Busting and imprisoning people for buying, selling and producing pot is just plain stupid. We’ve got better things to do with our taxes. In fact, pot should be a source of tax revenue, like cigarettes.

I haven’t smoked in years. Used to smoke with Myrna. It’s just sad to smoke without her.

But, if the Fed drops marijuana prohibition, I might consider smoking again. I’d much prefer to buy it in a dispensary, like they do it in California. Well, ain’t nothing wrong with buying it from a friend, either.

I just wish the shit wasn't so damned expensive!

Tom Gets Petty

Tom Petty wants Michelle Bachmann to stop using his song American Girl at campaign stops. It’s a petty, small minded move. I like some of Petty’s songs. But, I’ve listened to his radio show on Sirius, and he’s got the leftist disease.

Within the world of show biz, it’s taken for granted that Republicans are awful bigots. The show biz left is tolerant of everything but disagreement with any of its core beliefs. Petty’s political views are the standard 60s leftist crap. His radio show would be better if he just shut up about politics.

Bachmann is an American Girl. Petty should just be happy that she likes his song and wants to play it. Playing the song is not an attempt to suggest that Petty endorses Bachmann’s candidacy. I could care less about Petty’s endorsement. He’s just a song and dance guy.

I absolutely hate the 60s thing of musicians harping about politics. Tom, shut up and sing. And, stop being so petty. Remember, Tom, that quite a few Republicans buy tickets to your concerts.

Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em craiglist Ad

I don’t know what I think of gay marriage, but everything is an opportunity. A Village People tribute band! I found this ad in craigslist. The guy who put up the ad is probably right. Gay couples will be marrying in droves this summer.

I was never a Village People fan. I can’t even do the YMCA pantomime thing. But, I’m always willing to learn. How many songs did they do? I can only find four in YouTube. I wonder how the tribute band is going to fill out four full sets?

I wanna be the Fireman!  I wanna be a Macho Man!

Big Joe, you want to be the Sailor?

Next, will gays hire a band for the divorce party?  Any excuse for a party!  I've been looking for a part time job.  This could be just the thing!

Palin for Prez: The New Fox Times

I like Sarah Palin. I’d vote for her. But, I’ve got a sense of humor, too. This cartoon from The New Fox Times is just too funny. She is a babe.

The New Fox Times parodies The New York Times and the Fox Network simultaneously, which is quite a feat.

Be sure to click the link and take a look at the animation.  It's great.  About time we had a president with a great rack.

Everybody’s a Victim of Discrimination

It doesn't matter who you are — someone is going to discriminate against you in some way.

This gem was uttered by Darwin Barney, the Cubs’ second baseman. Barney may win the Rookie of the Year award in the National League this year. He’s hitting .294 and playing a great second base. He’s also hard at work on learning his clichés, following the immortal advice of Crash Davis in the movie Bull Durham: “Learn your clichés.”

Barney is appearing in a PR campaign called It Gets Better, a godawful piece of Diversity corporate speak that’s supposed to do something for gays.

He flubs one of his clichés in his Chicago Tribune interview:

I have a few family members who are gay. There's nothing weird about it. It's a decision that you should be able to make and not be discriminated against.

Somebody tell Barney that gays do not make a decision!

He was trying to do his best, I know. But, he screwed up here. The official Diversity Crusade line is: I Was Born This Way:

Who expects or wants intellectual sense from baseball players? What we really want from Barney is a little power and some RBIs. Barney has a great baseball name. If he rivals the great Casey Stengel in malapropisms, all the better.

But, there you have it from Barney. We are all victims of discrimination. Everybody is just like blacks in the Jim Crow south. Barney has absorbed the Diversity pablum well. He’s from Oregon. He undoubtedly had that stuff beaten into him in school.

We Cub fans have nothing to root for this year.  Maybe next year, too.  Enjoying this kind of stuff is all we've got.

Preaching Won’t Stop Smoking

I have a personal interest in smoking and health issues, because my wife, Myrna’s, death from cancer is probably partially attributable to smoking.

I doubt that the new proposed Fed laws on packaging will stop people from smoking, and they might be counter productive. And, there’s that little matter of personal freedom to consider, too.

Myrna knew that smoking was a deadly habit. I know, because I told her quite frequently that she was taking a deadly risk. Knowing this didn’t stop Myrna from smoking, because she genuinely needed to smoke. Smoking served some very deep emotional and psychological needs for her. Those needs were not going to be taken care of in any other way.

Addiction, as people like to call this, doesn’t happen because people need the drug or the habit to which they are addicted. Addiction happens because people need something that they can’t get elsewhere, or because their drug of choice provides them with relief from the pain of a physical or psychological injury.

Many young people are going to look at the proposed new cigarette packaging, and head right out to buy a pack of cigarettes. Adults have difficulty remembering this facet of adolescent behavior. Relentless preaching drives adolescents to try out the “evil” behavior they are being warned against. Check out some Goth sites.

People have, or should have, the right to live the way they want to, even if the Fed thinks that their behavior is risky or unhealthy. Myrna wanted to smoke. She enjoyed it. She knew the trade-off, in terms of risk, and she accepted the risk.

The preachy packaging is unneeded and potentially counter productive. Leave people alone to decide what they want to do, and what substances they want to ingest. The anti-cigarette BS is beginning to look a lot like pot prohibition. Nothing good is going to come out of this.

I wish that Myrna had never touched a cigarette. But, that habit was part of her. She made that choice, and she had the right to make that choice.

The Morning Bike Ride

Today, my bicycle ride took me past Willow Automotive Service, a classic car restoration shop.  I’m going through a lull in work, so I’m trying to enjoy being outdoors as much as possible.  I’m at 1,100 feet in the Catskills, so the days are cool and wonderful.  

I’d say that the car above is a 1965 Ford Mustang.  The grill has a horizontal bar across it, which is what I think distinguishes the 1965.  That bar disappears in the 1966.  This car features a 289 cubic inch, 225 horsepower engine!  A muscle car and a convertible!

And, Willow Automotive is also working on this 1957 Ford Thunderbird, an absolutely elegant car, and one of the most desirable classic American sports cars.  At least, I think this is a 1957.  Check out this page, and see if you can figure out the year.  I’m going by the grille.

I looped back around Sickler Road and Route 212, and then I rode around Cooper Lake.  What a stunning view!

I wish I could fish in Cooper Lake.  It’s the Kingston city reservoir, so no fishing or swimming allowed.  The fish are almost tame.  Bass swim right up to the edge of the shore and look at you.  Maybe I’ll do some night fishing.  I’ll bet you could hook a 2 or 3 pound bass.  Great eating!

I rode 10 miles today.  My standard easy workout.  A couple of times a week, I do 20 or more miles.  Tomorrow, I might aim for 30. 

So Wrong For So Long

I put up this post about my dad on June 19, 2005. It's worth a repeat on Father's Dad.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

I’ve run this picture before, but what does it hurt to run it again? This is my favorite picture of my father, Melvin Thomas.

To quote Patsy Cline: “I was so wrong for so long.”

What a different route my life would have taken had I simply always followed my father’s advice. Instead, I lost the path for so many years, wandering in search of something that was always right in front of me.

I remember to the day when I rebelled against Dad. My Babe Ruth League team played a night game in my home town of Watseka, Illinois. My knees were a mass of sores, scrapes and cuts from sliding into bases. Dad was assistant coach on the team, and first base coach. I stole second and the cuts and scrapes on my knees all broke open so that blood streamed through the pant leg of my uniform.

Dad ran out to help me up.

“Are you OK?” he asked.

“What do you care?” I answered. “All you care about is whether my name is in the paper.”

My name had been in the paper plenty that summer. I led the league in batting and pitching.

I could see the hurt on Dad’s face… not just hurt, but surprise and confusion. We had been inseparable companions. Every night he hurried home from the factory to strap on his catcher’s mitt. We lined up in the back yard and he drilled me on my windup, my stance, my curve ball.

Somehow, the time had come for me to be separate from him. I still do not understand how I could have hurt him.

From that moment, it was all downhill. For the next five years, I rebelled against him, ignored his advice and acted like a lunkhead. Those five years cost me plenty. I’ve struggled for 45 years to recover from the damage. I will never entirely repair that damage.

I wish that I had never been such a fool, Dad. In my stupid desire to impress worthless people, I became embarrassed of you… because you were born into poverty and ignorance. Your spirit was anything but poor and ignorant. 45 years later, I understand your wisdom, but it is too late.

Just before you lost your ability to think and speak, just before Alzheimer’s and age took you, we walked arm in arm around the block for the last time.

“You know, son,” Dad said, “I wish that I had…”

“Don’t Dad,” I begged him.

“I wish that I had been a better father.”

I broke down in tears and cried the rest of the way home.

“Don’t cry,” Dad pleaded. “Please don’t cry.”

I wish that I had been a better son, Dad, the son you deserved. I am the one who should apologize. I thought, in those years when I wandered, that I had something more important to do in this life than making you proud and happy. I was so wrong. For so long.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad. Keep Myrna company on the other side. I will be with you again soon.

Electric Car… Sunflower 33rd Anniversary Party

I stopped by Sunflower Natural Foods 33rd anniversary party to sample a wide variety of vendor’s food today. And, I ran across this homemade electric car.

Looks like a tank, eh? I asked the owner about it and he gave me a response that is 100% Woodstock.

”Do you have a website?” I asked him.

”No, I don’t want anybody stealing my ideas,” he replied.

So, he gave me his e-mail address. What that is about, I don’t know.

I tried tofu hot dogs, veggie burgers, sea weed and a wide variety of hummus and oil spreads. The food was surprisingly good, if outrageously expensive.